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Ask Good Game: Caleb, Hamish & more!

Ask Good Game: Caleb, Hamish & more!

BajoAlright Hex, before we get the answer train rolling for the year I've had an idea...

HexReally?? And what would that be Baj?

BajoWell since we get so many Minecraft questions I was thinking that we should write up a little frequently asked question guide and put that on our website.

HexWell Iím sure the spawnlings would love that, good thinking Baj...but letís get straight into some of these questions. Hmmm, itís so hard to choose... Iím just going to pick one randomly... ok, lucky first for the year is from Caleb, in Rockingham, Western Australia...

name: Caleblocation: Rockinghamstate: WA

comments: hy ggsp, I was just woundering, what's the point in having games with meaningless stories/ none at all?PS. Why wasn't mario introduced to us before donkey kong and why is he a plumber? Mario is 1 of the greatest heros of all time, couldn't he be described as something a little bit more heroic?PPS. Bajo, what happened to your machine that immitated Darren? PPPS. I'm sorry that the questions so long. bye!!

HexWell Caleb thatís actually a really interesting question. I mean, thereíre lots of people around who would argue that stories in games often just get in the way of the fun.

BajoYeah, there are loads of great games that donít really have a story. Take Pac-Man or Tetris or SimCity or even Minecraft, they donít really have stories but theyíre still great games.

HexYeah, Iíd say gameplay is always more important than story because games are all about having fun with the mechanics and design... if you just want a good story then you should read a book or watch a movie.

BajoAnd often all games need is a basic premise, Bowser kidnaps the princess and Mario goes to save her. You donít need to pad that out with hours of cut-scenes and dialogue, itís just nice to have that little bit of motivation and purpose behind the gameplay. That said though, I do love it when games have great stories.

HexYeah. But as for why Mario wasn't introduced before Donkey Kong... well I donít know if thereís even an answer for that, he just wasn't, but we can tell you why he was designed as a plumber.

BajoYeah, but you know he was actually designed as a carpenter in Donkey Kong to fit in to the games construction site setting.

HexBut once he got his own game with Mario Bros. he spent a lot of his time underground and going through pipes so they decided it made more sense to make him a plumber. It was as simple as that.

BajoYouíre right though Caleb, itís not a very heroic career, but in a way I think that makes him even more heroic since heís just an ordinary guy fighting to save the day. And uhh, I still have that DARREN Imitation device lying around here somewhere... ahh here it is see... Iím DARREN...I shoot lasers and sing badly...

HexHey Baj, you should totally call DARREN with it and pretend that youíre actually him from the future, heíll flip out...

BajoThatís the best idea Iíve ever heard... itís ringing...

DARRENHello DARREN speaking...

Bajo Hello DARREN, itís me, DARREN, Iím calling from the future...

DARRENOh Hi future me! Have we exterminated all the noobs yet?

BajoNo not yet, but Iím calling to warn you... you smell haha!

HexNice one Baj! But letís move on to this... from Hamish, in Mt Gambier, South Australia...

name: Hamishlocation: Mt Gambierstate: SA

comments: hi good game, "Ham-dog" here plz, plz,plz answer. I have a P.S.P and all the magazines told me there was LEGO Harry Potter yrs:5-7, but I've been to all ther gaming stores and there isn't(I have asked many times but it has never been replied. P.S Bajo, your awesome, Hex your pretty cool and Darren, no afence,your just CREEPY!!!!! ;b :) 8o

HexWell Ham-dog, Lego Harry Potter years five to seven is definitely available for the PSP so they weren't lying, but we can understand why youíre struggling to find it since it seems to be a little bit tricky track down a copy.

BajoBut we did an internet search for ďbuy Lego Harry Potter years 5-7 psp AustraliaĒ and found a few local websites that you could buy it from. And if for some reason they run out of stock, PSP games aren't region locked so itís possible to order a copy online from overseas and thatíll work fine.

HexGood luck with it Ham-dog! And next up we've got this from Vibhu, in Parramatta, New South Wales...

name: Vibhulocation: parramattastate: NSW

comments: hey bajo and hex i am 12 and my father is saying that Ps3 or 360 are not for my age olease help me to choose the right one. Thanks

BajoWell Vibhu we can understand why he might be a bit concerned about getting you a 360 or PS3 as they do have a lot of realistic and violent games which arenít suitable for your age.

HexBut having said that, each console has loads of great games for spawnlings your age like LittleBigPlanet, the LEGO games and Skylanders to name just a few.

BajoAnd you could mention that they have parental control features so he could set a password and make the console lock out any games rated above PG, so thereís no way youíll be playing anything unsuitable for your age.

Hex As for which one to choose, well thatís just a tough choice youíll have to make for yourself.

BajoYou should also consider that if you want to play multiplayer, you'll have to pay extra for that with the xbox but it's free with the PS3...

HexBut theyíre both excellent consoles with loads of amazing games so weíre sure youíll be a very happy gamer with either of them. So moving on to this from Stefan in Melbourne, Victoria...

name: Stefanlocation: Melbournestate: VIC

comments: Hi good game i have been watching your show from the beginning and i have a question to ask.When is The Legend of Zelda Past and Preasant going to be released in stors, and before it does can you please do a review on it. Bajo you are awesome. Hex your great. And Darren is such a nooooooooooooooob!!! :) Ha Ha Ha Ha

HexWell Stefan, weíre sorry to say that The Legend of Zelda Past and Present is never going to be released in stores because it isn't actually a game. Itís simply a fan made series of short animated videos, and as far as weíre aware itís not getting any kind of commercial release since that would be a huge copyright nightmare...

BajoBut the good news is that there are actually two new Zelda games in development that we know of. Well, ones only half new since itís an HD remake of The Legend of Zelda Wind Waker for the Wii U, but from what we've seen it looks great.

HexAnd the other is the as of yet untitled and unrelieved brand new Zelda game, also for the Wii U. We know almost nothing about that and probably wonít see any trailers or screenshots for a little while yet. But moving on to this from YOSH in Dino Town, Queensland...

name: YOSHlocation: Dino Townstate: QLD

comments: Hello goodgame how do you get a head start in littleBIGplanet KARTING? please ANSER or I'll be a nooooooooooob *( :( 0.o :'(

BajoWell thatís easy enough Yosh, to get a head start off the line you simply have to hold down the gas button and the hop button before a race starts, then as soon as it says ďgoĒ, release the hop button and bam, head start.

HexAnother little tip; you can get a speed boost from a jump by holding either L2 or R2 and doing a full barrel roll, then when you land youíll get a little boost.

HexIndeed, but moving on to our last one for the day and weíll go with this from Darren is a noob in Brisbane, Queensland...

name: darren is a nooblocation: brisbanestate: QLD

comments: what do layovers do in pocket planes

HexLayovers simply take passengers or cargo from a plane and leave it in a city that isnít its destination.

BajoTheyíre very useful to use since you can just pick up all the good fares from one airport, leave them as lay-overs in a hub city, and then once youíve got enough lay-overs waiting to go to the same city, fill up a plane with them and get the 25% bonus.

HexYeah, using lay-overs wisely is a much more profitable way of running your airline than simply picking up a whole bunch of random fares and dropping them off one at a time, that just makes flights take longer and youíll spend a lot more on fuel.

BajoBut on that note we are outta time for this week, and as always weíd love to answer your questions and you can send them in here...

HexAnd don't forget, if you've got a Minecraft question - then check out our Frequently Asked Minecraft Questions on our website first because the answer might just be there...

BajoRight back to the studio...

SPAWN SELECTS

Do you like the change of our scoring system to 5-star ratings?

Affirmative! It's easy to understand if a game is good or not.

Negative. I preferred the ten out of ten system.

I'm not sure, I'll give it more time to get used to.

I don't care about scores. It's what you say about the game that matters.